Panel support apparatus



Dec. 23, 1952 1. A. WILLIAMS 2,622,715

PANEL SUPPORT APPARATUS Filed Oct. 27, 1950 I 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 OPE/PA TOR'S POS/T/O/V IN VEN TOR.

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Dec. 23, 1952 l. A. WILLIAMS 2,522,716

PANEL SUPPORT APPARATUS Filed Oct. 27, 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 IN V EN TOR.

.[Vdn g Williams Z 97 Hffsf Patented Dec. 23, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PANEL snrron'r APPARATUS Ivan A. Williams, Portland, Greg.

Application October 27, 1950, Serial No. 192,525

3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to panel support apparatus of a character particularly applicable to the handling of plywood, panelboard, wood fiber board, and similar structural materials.

In manufacturing operations, there frequently arise situations in which it is necessary or desirable to support large, fiat panels in a horizontal position while contemporaneously permitting lateral and longitudinal movement of the panels. For example, in the plywood fabricating operation, it may be desired to transfer freshly trimmed plywood panels from a stack to apparatus for branding the panels on an end surface thereof, the panel subsequently being transferred to a sander.

This sequence of operations requires that the panel be lifted and transferred to a support adapted to carry a substantial portion of the weight of the panel while one end thereof passes through the branding apparatus. Furthermore, it is necessary that the panel be movable longitudinally so that it may be brought into registration with the branding apparatus. It also must be movable laterally so that it may pass through the branding apparatus to the sander. It is, therefore, the principal object of the present invention to provide such a support apparatus, 1. e. one which will support large, flat panels while permitting their longitudinal and lateral movement.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide supportapparatus adapted to support plywood panels while passing them through a branding apparatus and thence to the sander.

It is another object of the present invention to provide support apparatus which, while supporting large, flat panels, will permit their motion in both longitudinal and lateral directions, the lateral movement being permitted, however, only in the feed direction.

Still a further object of the present invention is the provision of apparatus for supporting and moving large, flat panels, which apparatus is flexible in operation and permits positive control of the motion of the panel.

Still a further object of the present invention is the provision of support apparatus for supporting and moving fiat panels, which apparatus is of relatively simple, durable, and inexpensive construction.

The manner in which the foregoing and other objects of the present invention are accomplished will be apparent from the following specification and" claims considered together with the accompanying drawings wherein like numerals refer to like parts and wherein:

Figure l is a plan view of a plant layout illustrating an application of the presently described panel supporting apparatus;

Figure 2 is a plan View of the panel supporting apparatus of the present invention; and

Figure 3 is a View in side elevation of the panel supporting apparatus of Figure 2.

Referring now more particularly to the drawingsz In Figure 1 a stack of panels, e. g. plywood panels, is indicated at It. These are to be transferred to an edge branding apparatus indicated generally at E2, and thence to a sander, indicated generally at it. In this operation, the top panel of the stack is transferred by the operator from the stack to the support apparatus or horse of the present invention, indicated generally at H3.

The panel then is pushed forwardly or longitudinally across table 18 until its end edge registers with a plurality of guide rolls Zn, in which position it is ready for introduction into the branding apparatus. Next the panel is moved laterally in the direction of the arrows until it is LSU ill)

engaged by feed rolls 22, it of the latter. These draw the panel through the branding apparatus and deliver it to an outfeed table 26. Thence it may be passed to the table 253 of the sander M.

The construction of the horse or support apparatus it which may be employed in effectuating this series of manipulations is illustrated particularly in Figures 2 and 3. It comprises a body portion 3t supported at a suitable elevation by legs 32, 3t. These may be rigidly affixed to the floor, the forward legs 33 preferably being angled outwardly and reinforced by a brace 36 to support the panel engaging member of the horse.

Attached to the body adjacent one end thereof are a pair of arms 38, the attachment being through a pair of pins or hinges ill, ill, to permit horizontal pivoting of the arms. Each of the arms preferably is bowed or angled outwardly for a reason which will appear hereinafter.

A wheel t2, which first engages the panels as they are transferred onto the apparatus, is rotatably and pivot-ally mounted between the arms 38. To this end, there are provided a pair of bearings it, 56 attached, respectively, to arms 33 through pivot pins or hinges 48, 5B. A shaft 52 is journalled in bearings is, it and serves to mount the Wheel.

Wheel &2 preferably is covered with a peripherallayer 5t of soft, resilient material such as.

rubber. It is of suitable diameter and width and its upper surface preferably is stationed slightly above the upper surface of the body member 30.

Suitable means are provided to permit rotation of the wheel in the feed direction only, and hence to prevent the panels from slipping back on the stack from which they have been lifted. In the illustrated embodiment, such means comprise a ratchet, the toothed wheel of which is indicated at 56 and the pawl at 58. Hence the wheel serves to transfer the panel laterally onto the body of the support apparatus where it is engaged by the roller 60. Thereafter wheel 42 may be returned to its original position by suitable resilient means such as spring 62.

The operation of the presently described support apparatus is as follows. A panel from stack I is deposited on wheel 42 in such a manner that the latter contacts the panel centrally. The panel thus is balanced on the wheel, in which position it may be advanced against the guide rolls 20. This requires a longitudinal movement of the panel, made possible by swivelling of the wheel assembly against the tension of spring 62, which serves to return the wheel to its initial position when the panel has been removed.

The panel next is moved until wheel 2 and arms 38 have assumed the position indicated in dotted outline in Figure 2, in which the far edge of the panel is in contact with all of the guide rolls 20. Because of a certain feel of alignment transmitted through the balanced panel, this is possible even though the operator may be as much as ten feet away from the rolls. It is also to be noted that during this operation the outward angle of arms 38 provides clearance so that wheel 42 will rotate even when in advanced position.

The panel then is moved laterally through the branding apparatus, across rollers 60 and outfeed table 26 of the brander, until it rests on table 28 of the sander. This sequence of operations may be carried out by a single operator remaining in a single, central station. It proceeds smoothly through all of its stages because wheel 52 is parallel to the direction of panel movement at all times.

Thus it will be apparent that, by the present invention, I have provided support apparatus for handling large panels such as plywood and the like which apparatus supports the panels while contemporaneously permitting their lateral and longitudinal displacement. Still further, the panel remains under perfect control of the operator at all times and may be adjusted accurately with respect to the apparatus to which it is fed. Also, the control of the panel is such that it moves smoothly forward in the feed direction only, without becoming overbalanced and without sliding back toward the stack from which it has been raised. All these various advantages are obtained, furthermore, through a durable, inexpensive mechanism of relatively simple construction.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of my invention, or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. Support apparatus for supporting plywood panels and the like which comprises a body portion, an arm, first pivot means for attaching one end of the arm to the body portion pivotally in the plane of the panel, second pivot means attached to the other end of the arm for pivotal motion in the plane of the panel, Wheel-mounting means attached to the second pivot means, and rotatably mounted on the wheel-mounting means a wheel adapted to support a panel placed thereon, the first and second pivot means coacting with the wheel-mounting means to permit angular movement of the arm relative to the body portion and free rotation of the wheel when moved by a panel supported thereby.

2. Support apparatus for supporting plywood panels and the like which comprises a body portion, a pair of spaced apart arms, first pivot means for attaching one end of each of the arms to the body portion pivotally in the plane of the panel, second pivot means attached to the other end of each of the arms for pivotal motion in the plane of the panel, wheel-mounting means supported by the second pivot means, and rotatably mounted on the wheel-mounting means a wheel adapted to support a panel placed thereon, the first and second pivot means coacting with the wheel-mounting means to permit free tracking of the wheel on the panel and the contemporaneous lateral and longitudinal displacement of the panel.

3. Support apparatus for supporting plywood panels and the like comprising a body portion, a pair of arms, a first pair of hinges attached one to one end of each of the arms and mounting the same on the body pivotally in the plane of the panel, a second pair of hinges attached one to the other end of each of the arms for pivotal motion in the plane of the panel, a second pair of arms connected one to each of the second pair of hinges, and a wheel rotatably mounted between the second pair of arms, the hinges acting to permit angular movement of the first pair of arms with respect to the body portion and the contemporaneous longitudinal and lateral displacement of the wheel when moved by a panel supported thereby.

4. Support apparatus for supporting plywood panels and the like which comprises a body portion, a pair of spaced apart arms, first pivot means for attaching one end of each of the arms to the body portion pivotally in the plane of the panel, second pivot means attached to the other end of each of the arms for pivotal motion in the plane of the panel, wheel-mounting means supported by the second pivot means, rotatably mounted on the wheel-mounting means a wheel adapted to support a panel placed thereon, the first and second pivot means coacting with the wheel-mounting means to permit free tracking of the wheel on the panel and the contemporaneous lateral and longitudinal displacement of the panel, and resilent means associated with one of the arms for resisting the angular movement of the same when moved by the panel and for returning the arms and the wheel supported thereby to a predetermined station when the panel is removed therefrom.

5. The support apparatus of claim 4 wherein the resilient means comprises a coiled spring interconnecting the arm and the body portion.

6. Support apparatus for supporting plywood panels and the like which comprises a body portion, a pair of spaced apart arms, first pivot means for attaching one end of each of the arms to the body portion pivotally in the plane of the panel, second pivot means attached to the other end of each of the arms for pivotal motion in the plane of the panel, wheel-mounting means supported by the second pivot means, rotatably mounted on the wheel-mounting means a wheel adapted to support a panel placed thereon, the first and second pivot means coacting with the wheel-mounting means to permit free tracking of the wheel on the panel and the contemporaneous lateral and longitudinal displacement of the panel, and means for limiting the rotation of the wheel to the feed direction of the panel.

7. The support apparatus of claim 6 wherein the wheel comprises a ratchet wheel adapted to rotate in the feed direction of the panel only.

8. A horse for supporting plywood panels and the like which comprises an elongated body portion, legs attached to the body portion for supporting the body a spaced distance above a floor, a plurality of wheels rotatably mounted on the body portion and extending laterally therefrom with their peripheral surfaces above the plane of the top surface of the body portion, a pair of spaced apart arms, first pivot means for attaching one end of each of the arms to the body REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Palmer Sept. 9, 1390 Barto July 21, 1908 Olson Oct. 22, 1929 Paul May 7, 1935 Number 

